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In the communication of psychologists, we often hear: “He is an introvert” or “He is an extrovert!” What is it about?
«Intro» — inside. «Extra» — out. «Version» — orientation, aspiration, appeal.
Accordingly, introversion is the orientation (aspiration, appeal) of the personality inward. Extraversion — turning (orientation, aspiration) outwards.
It would seem that everything is simple. In reality, the history of these terms is complex and confusing, and at the present time different specialists put significantly different meanings into these words.
Introversion — Jungian Extraversion
According to K. Jung, extraversion is manifested in the direction of the libido (vital energy) of a person to the outside world, in that the extravert prefers the social and practical aspects of life, operations with real external objects, and the introvert prefers immersion in the world of imagination and reflection. See Introversion — Jungian Extraversion
Introversion — Extraversion according to Leonhard
According to Karl Leonhard, an extrovert is a weak-willed person, subject to influence from outside, an introvert is a strong-willed person, with clear values, according to which he is not afraid to oppose himself to the environment. See Types of accentuations according to K. Leonhard
Introversion — Extraversion according to Eysenck
An extrovert according to G. Eysenck is sociable, optimistic, impulsive, has a wide circle of acquaintances and weak control over emotions and feelings. On the contrary, the introvert is calm, shy, distant from everyone except close people, plans his actions in advance, loves order in everything and keeps his feelings under strict control. See Extrovert and Introvert by Eysenck
Introversion — Extraversion in the Syntone Approach
In the Sinton approach, an extrovert is a person who is turned outward, open to the world, directed towards people. The problematic extrovert is stupid, superficial, and out of control. The opposite of an extrovert is an introvert, a person turned inside himself. A problematic introvert is closed from the world, running away into himself, interested in himself first of all. Adapted introvert — sees others.
Introversion — Extraversion in other approaches
In socionics, an extrovert is one for whom the objects themselves are important in the world, and the relationships between them are less important. An introvert is someone for whom it is not objects that are important, the relationship between objects and their attitude towards them. See Introversion and extraversion in socionics
In the Myers-Briggs typology, the E-I scale is the orientation of consciousness: E (Extraversion, extraversion) — the orientation of consciousness outward, towards objects, I (Introversion, introversion) — the orientation of consciousness inwards, towards the subject.
The terms «extraversion» and «introversion» are also used in psychosophy, in the NEO-PI-R test and in a number of other modern questionnaires and diagnostic methods, where their interpretation has its own specifics.